Ambika Timsina

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Political turmoil and an intensified Maoist
insurgency severely strained Nepal's young democracy and profoundly
challenged the country's independent media. In November 2001, the
government, then led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, imposed a
state of emergency, introduced a sweeping anti-terrorism ordinance, and
called out the army to counter the mounting threat posed by Maoist
rebels. Each of these actions had serious repercussions for the press
in 2002. Under the state of emergency, in effect until late August,
press freedom and other civil liberties were suspended. The
anti-terrorism ordinance--formally known as the Terrorist and Disruptive
Activities (Control and Punishment) Ordinance and commonly referred to
as TADO--identifies the Maoist faction of the Communist Party of Nepal
(CPN-M) as a terrorist group and allows for the arrest of anyone "in
contact with" or "supportive of" the rebels. More than 100 journalists
were detained during 2002 under these broad provisions, which remain in
force. The government also introduced reporting guidelines, banning
anything "likely to create hatred against [the] Royal Nepal Army,
police, and civil servants, and lower their morale and dignity."